{{Short description|Candle holder with multiple arms}} {{About|the candle holder|the hydroid genus ''Candelabrum''|Candelabridae|the geoglyph|Paracas Candelabra}} thumb|Candelabra with lit candles A '''candelabrum''' ({{Plural form}} candelabra or candelabrums), or '''candelabra''' ({{Plural form}} candelabras), is a type of candlestick which has multiple branches to hold several candles as opposed to only one.<ref name=SOED>{{cite book|title=Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed.|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-0199206872|pages=3804}}</ref><ref name=mw>{{cite web | url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/candelabra | title=candelabra | publisher=Merriam-Webster | access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=dict>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/candelabrum|title=Candelabrum - Define Candelabra at Dictionary.com|work=Dictionary.com|access-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> "Candelabra" can be used to describe a variety of candle holders including chandeliers. However, candelabra can also be distinguished as freestanding branched candle holders that are placed on a surface such as the floor, a stand, or a tabletop. Chandeliers, on the other hand, are hung from the ceiling.<ref name=hollandbeck>{{cite web |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/11/in-a-word-shedding-some-light-on-candle-holders/ |title=In a Word: Shedding Some Light on Candle Holders |work=The Saturday Evening Post|date= 17 November 2022 |first=Andy |last=Hollandbeck }}</ref>

The Romans used the term to describe a form of ornamental lighting,<ref name=macmillan /> which may be a tall stand that supports a lamp. In Judaism, the menorah and hanukkiah are special kinds of candelabra. Candelabra are also used in churches, in ceremonies such as Tenebrae, in certain Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church liturgy such as the dikirion and trikirion. Candelabra in the form of branched candlesticks also came into use in homes as decorative lighting.

In modern times, electricity has largely relegated candleholders to decorative use in homes. Interior designers nowadays continue to model light fixtures and lighting accessories after candelabra and single candlesticks. Although candelabra are designed to hold candles, modern candelabra may also use artificial candles with LED light bulbs.

== Etymology == thumb|left|Candelabra used for state occasions at the Belgian court (1960) The first known use of ''candelabra'' in English was in 1776,<ref name="candelabra">{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/candelabra |title=Candelabra |work=Merriam-Webster }}</ref> and ''candelabrum'' in 1811.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/candelabrum |title=candelabrum |work=Merriam-Webster }}</ref> The word is originally Latin, where ''candēlābrum'' (''candela'', candle, ''-b(a) rum'', holder) means "candlestick”, ultimately deriving from ''candēla'', meaning "candle". ''Candēlābrum'' is the singular form and ''candēlābra'' is the plural.<ref name="candelabra"/> Yet changes in English usage over time have brought ''candelabra'' into popular use as the singular form, with ''candelabras'' the supposed plural.<ref name=macmillan>{{cite web |title=Word of the Day: candelabra |url=https://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/candelabra |website=Macmillan Dictionary |access-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190618235832/https://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/candelabra |archive-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> "Candelabrums" may replace the Latin plural form.

A candelabrum is a form of candlestick, an object that holds a candle,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/candlestick |title=Candlestick |work=Cambridge Dictionary }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/candlestick |title=Candlestick |work=Merriam Webster }}</ref> and a candelabrum is a branched candlestick that supports multiple candles.<ref name=dict/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/candelabra |title=Candelabra |work=Collins Dictionary }}</ref> The term is sometimes extended to chandeliers, but the two differ in that a candelabrum is placed on a surface, while a chandelier is hung from the ceiling.<ref name=hollandbeck />

== History == [[File:Menorah (Arc de Titus, Rome).jpg|thumb|upright|Menorah depicted in the Arch of Titus in Rome]] Candelabra were known to have been used in the ancient world. A notable example is the seven-armed candelabrum or menorah, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with instruction on its creation to Moses.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOI9oLkEHdoC&pg=PA121 |title=The Menorah, the Ancient Seven-armed Candelabrum: Origin, Form, and Significance |publisher=Brill |first=Racḥel |last=Ḥa̱chlili |pages=7&ndash;9 |date=2001|isbn=90-04-12017-3 }}</ref> The menorah is depicted in the Arch of Titus following the capture of Jerusalem. It has since become a symbol of Judaism and an Emblem of Israel, as well as a model of seven-armed candelabra used in medieval Christian churches.{{sfn|Baur|1996|page=18}} A bronze candelabrum was made by Callimachus for the Erechtheion in Athens, to carry the lamp sacred to Athena. In this case it is possible the lamp was suspended.<ref name=EB />

While "candelabrum" is now often used to mean a branched candle holder, the term has been used to describe a variety of lighting objects. A candelabrum may describe a tall stand that supports a lamp.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zbmEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT213 |title=The Life in Ancient Times: Discoveries of Pompeii, Ancient Greece, Babylon & Assyria|first1= T. L. |last1=Haines|first2= L. W.|last2= Yaggy |publisher=Good Press |date=2023}}</ref><ref name="guide">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=waSKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 |title=A Guide to the Exhibition Illustrating Greek and Roman Life|publisher= British Museum|author= Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities |date=2022 |pages=215&ndash;216}}</ref> The Roman candelabra may consist of a stalk or reed, the upper part moulded with projecting feature to carry lights at the top, and a base resting on three lions' or griffins' feet. The origin of the term, which means a candlestick, suggests that Roman candelabra may have a disk with a spike on top to carry a wax or tallow candle ({{lang|la|candela}} or {{lang|la|funalia}}). Candelabra, however, can have a disk at the top to carry a lamp, and sometimes there may be a hollow cup, in which resinous woods were burnt.<ref name=EB />

{{multiple image | align = left | direction = horizontal | total_width = 300 | image1 = Candelabro Barberini, Inv. 551, prima metà del II sec. d.C., da Villa Adriana -FG.jpg | caption1 = Barberini candelabrum in the Vatican Museums | header = Ancient candelabra | image2=Bronze candelabrum MET DP250501.jpg | caption2=Etruscan candelabrum {{circa}} 550 B.C }}

The Roman candelabra used in public building can be of significant size, and they may have bulky supports in stone or marble, of which many examples were found in the {{lang|la|thermae}}. These consists of a base, often triangular, a shaft either richly moulded or carved with the acanthus plant and crowned with a large cup or basin with similar design to the small sacrificial altars. Examples of the latter excavated from Hadrian's Villa are now found in the Vatican Museums.<ref name=EB>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Candelabrum|volume=5|page=177}}</ref> Simpler tall slender candelabra with three feet were used in a domestic setting in the Etruscan and Roman periods. These may be made of wood, but many made of bronze were excavated in Herculaneum and Pompeii.<ref name=antiquities>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNVPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA191 |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities: Volume 1 |date=1842 |publisher=Taylor and Walton|pages=191&ndash;192}}</ref><ref name="guide"/> Other types of candelabra also existed in the Roman period; these may consist of a figure supporting one or two branches with plates for lamps, or a type that may be placed on a table, with a pillar that has branches from which lights are suspended.<ref name=antiquities />

thumb|upright|Gothic candelabra in Frankfurt, Germany The Roman examples seem to have served as models for many of the candelabra in the churches in Italy.<ref name=EB /> In the 4th century, Pope Sylvester I presented to churches brass candelabra inlaid with silver.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/ecclesiasticalar00lubk/page/174/mode/2up|title=Ecclesiastical Art in Germany |first=Wilhelm |last=Lubke|author-link= Wilhelm Lübke|date= 1873|pages=171, 174 }}</ref> Liturgical services were performed with the use of candlelight, and candelabra with prickets may be used to hold the candles in churches. The candelabra may be very large candlesticks supporting a single light, or they may have multiple branches supporting multiple candles. Seven-armed candelabra mentioned in the Bible also inspired their use in churches; they were known in the 8th century, with the Essen candelabrum from around 1,000 AD the earliest surviving example.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C3uYEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 |pages=341&ndash;345|title=The Menorah and the Seven-branched Candelabrum: Jewish and Christian Manifestations in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods|first1=Andrea |last1=Worm|first2=Maria|last2= Streicher|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|date= 2025|isbn=9783111165219 }}</ref> They are also used in the Eastern Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hapgood |first=Isabel |author-link=Isabel Hapgood |title=Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church |year=1975 |orig-year=1922 |edition=5th |page=xxx |place=Englewood NJ |publisher=Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese |isbn=978-148104918-4}}</ref> Candelabra may be used in some religious ceremonies.

thumb|left|upright|A five-light candelabrum {{circa}} 1785

Candelabra in the form of branched candle holders were commonly found in religious buildings, but they were also used in the homes of the wealthy. Good wax candles were expensive in the early period and only the wealthy could afford them, while the cheaper tallow candles made of animal fat were smelly, smokey and burned quickly. Candle holders were therefore rare in ordinary households in the early period.<ref name=banham>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlKhCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA225 |title=Encyclopedia of Interior Design|date=1997 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781136787584 |editor=Joanna Banham |pages=225&ndash;226 }}</ref>

By the 17th century in France, candelabra was defined by César-Pierre Richelet as "a large room candlestick which has several branches", although candelabra existed in other forms.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dictionnaire_de_l%27ameublement_et_de_la_d%C3%A9coration_depuis_le_XIIIe_si%C3%A8cle_jusqu%27%C3%A0_nos_jours_(IA_dictionnairedela01hava).pdf |title=Dictionnaire de l'ameublement et de la décoration| volume =1 |pages=550&ndash;554| first= Henry |last=Havard |date= 1888 |publisher=Maison Quantin, compagnie générale d'impression et d'édition}}</ref> The candelabra may be placed on a fireplace mantel, table, guéridon, and torchère, or if large, on the floor. In England in the 18th century, candelabra may be used interchangeably with a number of terms, such as branches, chandeliers, lustres, girandoles, and wall-lights.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSFFAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 |title=Conservation and Restoration of Glass |first1= Sandra|last1= Davison|first2= R.G. |last2=Newton |date= 2008|page=69 |isbn=9781136415517|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> Girandoles were a form of candelabra with crystals in the 17th century, but were sold as candelabra in England by the end of the 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSFFAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |title=Conservation and Restoration of Glass |first1= Sandra|last1= Davison|first2= R.G. |last2=Newton |date= 2008|page=68 |isbn=9781136415517|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref>

thumb|upright|A pair of candelabra with three branches, the top part can be detached leaving a single-armed candlestick In the 18th century, candelabra that are portable became more popular than sconces fixed onto the wall.<ref name=silver/> Two-branched candelabra were then the most common, and many designs allowed the branches to be detached leaving a single-armed candlestick. By the 19th century, silver candelabra with multiple branches were often used together with elaborate centerpieces on dinner tables.<ref name=silver>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kIdMik92xOMC&pg=PA498 |title=English, Irish, & Scottish Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute|first= Beth |last=Carver Wees |date= 1997 |pages=497&ndash;498 |publisher=Hudson Hills |isbn=9781555951177 }}</ref>

thumb|left|upright|Baccarat glass candelabrum By the 20th century, electric light became the common form of lighting, which rendered the use of candle light non-essential. Candelabra, however, continued to be used, especially on formal occasions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/state-dining-room-place-settings-for-state-dinner |title=State Dining Room Place Settings for State Dinner |work=The White House Historical Association }}</ref> Nowadays candles are still commonly used, but they may also be substituted by artificial candles with LED or incandescent light bulbs. The term ‘candelabra’ is commonly used to describe small light bulbs used in chandeliers and other lighting fixtures made for decoration as well as lighting.

== Candelabra antennas == thumb|upright=0.6|Sutro Tower from Grandview In the United States and Canada,{{cn|date=April 2017}} the word candelabra is used to refer to radio masts and towers with multiple transmission antennas. Sutro Tower in San Francisco and John Hancock Center in Chicago are examples of such structures.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benson |first1=K. Blair |title=Television engineering handbook |date=1986 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0070047790 |page=8.11 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/televisionengine0000unse_p2o5/page/n319/mode/2up?q=candelabra |chapter=8.1.6. Candelabras}}</ref> Baltimore's TV stations, WMAR-TV, WBAL-TV, and WJZ-TV in 1959 built the world’s first three-antenna candelabra tower, 730 feet tall. Other examples include the Mount Royal Candelabra in Montreal, the KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower, KSMO Candelabra Tower, KMBC/KCWE Candelabra Tower, and the Madison Community Candelabra Tower in Madison, Wisconsin. {{clear}} == Gallery == <gallery> File:Candélabres.jpg|Crystal candelabrum from Portieux File:Boda en Casapueblo - Wedding Planner Uruguay.JPG|A modern candelabrum used decoratively at a wedding in the Casa Pueblo historic building in Uruguay File:Candelabrum (one of a pair) MET DP-12374-040.jpg|Porcelain candelabra File:Candelabrum (one of a pair) MET ES4714.jpg|A five-armed candelabrum File:Johann Joachim Kändler - Candelabras with Parrots - 1938.305 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Candelabrum with Meissen porcelain parrot File:Tenebrario Colonial.jpg|Tenebrae candelabrum File:Dolmabağça sarayının Mərasim zalında büllur çilçıraq və mərmər sütunlar.jpg|Glass candelabra in Turkey File:Providenzkirche HD Opferlichter.JPG|Votive candle rack that resembles a candelabra in a church in Germany Nummen kirkko, kynttelikko, oikea-trimmed.jpg|Candelabra in Finland File:Hungarian Jewish Museum, Menorah.jpg|A hanukiah File:IMG 6849 - Duomo - Menorah Trivulzio - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 3-Mar-2007.jpg|12th-century Trivulzio Candelabrum File:SiebenarmigerLeuchter_bearb.jpg|Essen candelabrum in Germany </gallery>

== See also == *Candlestick *Chandelier *Menorah *Girandole *Torchère *Paracas Candelabra *Charlottenburg Candelabra a pair of ornamental colonnades in west Berlin with a passing resemblance to candelabra

== References == {{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography === *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLGFAAAACAAJ |title=Metal Candlesticks: History, Styles and Techniques|first= Veronika |last=Baur |date= 1996|isbn=9780764301568 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing }}

==External links== {{Commons category}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Antennas Category:Candelabra Category:Candles Category:Lighting